More DIY Wreaths + Tutorials

Speaking of wreaths (see my recent post)....



Brenda at Alpha+Mom shared these great ideas for creative (and sometimes recycled) wreath designs that can be done with kids or just with kids-at-heart. Love them! (via Craftzine)

DIY Gift Bows

Awhile back, I shared a DIY trick for making gift toppers out of plastic bags.


As the holiday season approaches again, I thought I'd pass along this tutorial from How About Orange on making gift bows out of recycled items you have on hand, like maps or magazine pages.

Cereal Box to Drawer Organizer

Gotta love this simple recycling idea from A Little Hut. While there's no written out tutorial, her pictures provide a pretty good idea of the steps.



And given the normal price of such things, it's absolutely wonderful to find a free, environmentally friendly way to accomplish the same thing. I think these would look amazing covered in some fun fabric.

Plastic Soda Bottle Vase Tutorial

Here's a fun (and free!) project available on wikiHow: a tutorial on turning a plastic soda bottle into an attractive vase.

Plastic Bags into Baskets

Craftzine recently featured a pretty straightforward tutorial from The lucky ladybird craft blog on making baskets out of old plastic bags. Very cool. If you like this stuff, check out my older posts on using plastic bags as gift bows and art.

Business Card Artwork

Whether you've been laid off in this horrible recession or you just have a lot of used office supplies hanging around, here's one idea for an alternative use for business cards:  stick 'em together and make a quick and easy art project.  (If you're interested, I previously posted about using business cards to make a nice origami-style box).

All I did was put masking tape on the back, so that they formed a single sheet.  Masking tape or painter's tape works well because it comes off later.  They don't need to be perfectly aligned.

Then I made my drawing.  I used only office supplies on hand (permanent markers and highlighters).

Last step was to remove the tape.  You could keep it together for a textured look.  Or you could mount them on some other paper with space in between.  Another option would be to hang each piece on the wall separately.  Or how about using it as a simple puzzle?  Anyone have other ideas?  I haven't decided what to do with my little masterpiece yet.

Envelope to Gift Bag Tutorial

I've posted before with tutorials for how to use envelopes to create beads and to make new envelopes.

This time, How About Orange provides a great tutorial so you can learn how to turn old envelopes into nice gift bags in just a few steps.

P.S. This is not an April Fool's Day joke! =)

Recycled Envelope Bead Tutorial

 

A while back, I posted about re-using old security envelopes to make new, pretty envelopes.  Well, here's another option: turning those junk mail envelopes into lovely paper beads.  Laupre has an explanation of how to make them.  (via Folding Trees) 

Celebrate a New Era

Things have been very exciting in our country--especially Washington D.C.--this week.  I was lucky enough to get to go and see some of the inauguration events.  It was amazing how many people came from so many different states and even countries to be a part of it all. 

Well, even if you couldn't make it out for the inauguration, you can be connected to our new president by turning a picture of yourself into the style of the classic Obama poster.  Visit Obamicon.me to make your own. (via How About Orange)

Paper Bag Wrapping Paper

I thought I'd share with you this simple idea for re-use friendly gift wrap.  I did this little wrapping project over the holidays, but it could be used for any time of the year.  I wrapped presents using old paper bags.  I simply cut them up, folded them flat, and used scotch tape for wrapping.  It did take a little more tape than usual because the bag paper is thick.

Since all the gifts were for one person--they were small items--I cut out numbers instead of labels.  I used red scrap paper, punched a hole, and put them through the ribbons for color.  You could also do letters for initials, or shapes, or who knows what else.  I cut them freehand, but you could also buy large stencils at any craft store. 

Plastic Bag Gift Topper Tutorial

A great use for all those plastic bags: Creature Comforts provides this wonderful tutorial on turning old bags into pom-poms.

However you feel about the outcome of the election (you know how I feel), these designs from Jeff Domke are amazing.  You can download his font of 24 Obama-inspired dingbats for free! (via How About Orange)

Where I Stop Pretending to be Nonpartisan

We are too close to election day for me to pretend not to be completely and totally on edge about the results. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm supporting Obama and hoping for a big change for our country.


So, thanks to How About Orange, who has a notably more politically balanced post, you can download amazing Obama posters and distribute them to all your friends. Get out and vote, people!

Borrowed Art

I am soooooo jealous.  Cal (aka UC Berkeley), my very own alma mater, has started a program that allows students to check out framed original art from the library for up to a year.  Students can now decorate their dorm rooms for free with art from a collection that includes

"more than 700 paintings, etchings, lithographs and engravings by artists including 20th century French Cubist Georges Braque, Surrealist Max Ernst, English satirist William Hogarth and contemporary local artists."

Why, oh why, didn't they have this when I was there?????

DIY Album Cover Wall Organizers

 

Paper and Stitch has come up with this brilliant reuse idea for old vinyl covers.  Make your own wall organizers using their ingeniously simple tutorial.   (via Ready Made blog)

Profiles in Craftiness: Rock Paper Scissors Collective

My friend Tam told me about this awhile ago, but since I've been neglecting this blog, I haven't shared it with you all yet. 

I'm very, very jealous of all the people in the Bay Area (that's the San Francisco Bay Area, for all you folks from elsewhere who think there might be more than one Bay Area) for many reasons, but partly because they have access to the Rock Paper Scissors Collective, a

"volunteer-run organization that fosters creativity and collaboration in order to strengthen local communities and encourage sustainable practices and alternative models 

RPS currently realizes this through an accessible space that offers free and low-cost classes, curated and open submission art shows, the retail of independently made clothing/craft/zines/music, a drop in arts lab, community events space, and youth involvement."

In other words, it's a place with some of the awesomest crafting classes around.  From classics like Knitting, Crocheting, or Silk Screening to wilder options like "Making Shoes out of Sweatshirts" "Girl-Friendly Skateboarding" or "Messing with Bikes" the options at Rock Paper Scissors are a crafty girl or guy's dream come true.  Did I mention I'm jealous?

So if you are lucky enough to live in the East Bay (or you're willing to commute), check out the Rock Paper Scissors Collective.

Crafty Rx for a Bad Mood

Ever just have a day when you feel useless at everything?  Yesterday was one of those for me....  Work going nowhere, tired of my messy & undecorated apartment, unable to work out because of an old foot injury, and just feeling alone.

So a little venting:  Why don't I have some actual hobbies or exciting events in my life?  I feel like I don't even have clear interests anymore (I'll blame law school).  Once, I knew where I wanted to go in life and had definite interests that I pursued.  But now I just feel kind of lost and incompetent.

Luckily, though, there's one thing guaranteed to pick me up from any blue mood:  using scissors!  Yup, just spend 15 minutes cutting out pretty pictures from magazines, and (if you're like me) you won't be able to help feeling a little better.  Sure, maybe nothing's actually improved, but a quick round of snipping gives me hope that things will be better soon.

Designing Fun With Polyvore

"What is Polyvore?" you ask.  Only the best time suck for the wanna be artist, designer, or procrastinator ever.  To quote from the website, " Polyvore lets you mix and match images from anywhere on the web, to create outfits, interior designs, or any kind of collage."

In other words, you can literally spend hours searching not only the Polyvore site, but the ENTIRE world wide web for  components for practically any kind of picture you'd like to make.  Below, you'll see my first attempt.

One warning, (besides the obvious that you shouldn't start this if you have an addictive personality and somewhere to be in the next hour):  Polyvore still has a ways to go in developing the tool to make it its best (it's only been around since sometime last fall).  Cropping and rotating images are limited/non-existent, and it's a huge hassle to deal with changing things from foreground to background images.


Still, it's far too fun not to check out!  There's also a Polyvore Facebook group, for those so inclined.

July is Etsy How-To Month

Etsy is hosting over 25 live tutorials this month on how to do any number of crafts (actually, they've already hosted a couple, so act fast or you'll miss more). So head on over to Etsy and view the schedule of classess. Monday, from 4-8 pm (all times are EST) they will host an origami-making class that I hope to catch. Via Craftzine.

Happy 4th of July!

DIY Business Envelopes to Pretty Envelopes Tutorial

Hi all, wonderful news: my nephew is on the mend! Here's a fun little project from Design Sponge I came across via Folding Trees. All it involves really is carefully turning junk mail envelopes inside out. Check out the tutorial at Design Sponge.